Our First Houseguests, Free Building Materials, and Demolition

Our friends Anita and Greg and their two teenage boys, Derek and Jacob, and their two large dogs, Rocky and the black dog they rescued and hope we will adopt when we are ready who doesn't yet have a name since we keep changing it and calling her different things all the time (Etta, Monster, Kirby, Zippy, etc). We had a great time and it was also an awesome way to "test" our new home – to find out how we use the house with guests and what works and what doesn't.

What works:

• It's great having a main bath for guests, and guest rooms, and the RV!


• The living room is a nice space and going to work fine, however we arrange it.


• The kitchen is sort of functional – the peninsula counter was good for setting up buffet style meals.


• The patio was nice for hanging out on and playing with the dogs in the yard.

What doesn't work (or could work better):

• We should really get furniture – like beds, for example, for guests!


• The main bath doesn't have a shower, so they had to use our tiny beat up shower in the master. Of course, these things are already in renovation plans.


• It would be nice to have the RV hooked up so guests could stay there and actually use the sink, shower and toilet as needed.


• More furniture in the living room will help – places to sit, and also a table and chairs for eating!


• I definitely don't like the wall, even though it's only a partial wall, between the living room and kitchen. I made French Toast for Easter Brunch and everyone was in the living room eating and talking and I was in the kitchen alone, "slaving away" (ha).  Being able to see and hear the action in the living room would be much better.


• Having an actual yard, or at least landscaping of some sort, in the back would make it much nicer! And also, nice comfy seating on the patio.

On Saturday, we went for a nice long walk – there are so many great places to walk nearby – I should really walk more. That's why I need a dog. Just 1/2 block away is open land with great views of the Sierra and White mountains, and a path along a canal. We saw ducks and fish and frogs and thoroughly tired the dogs out!

On Sunday, we drove up to a local canyon and checked out some old mines, and collected some free building materials! Nice flat "fieldstone" type rocks for walkways or walls – I am so excited to go back and get more! I laid them out in the front yard like a walkway, and they look great! We would need to set them in sand or something so that they are more even on top, and bigger ones would be better for patio or walkway, but there are LOTS of rocks up there. Very cool.

When our guests left and we walked back into the house, we knew we would miss all the action and it would be TOO quiet. So we started our first demolition project – ha. We successfully pulled out two of the three cabinets on the back patio! It wasn’t that hard, either. The third cabinet has some plumbing that was installed through it after it was built, so we need a Sawzall to get it out, but that shouldn't be hard. We will be giving away the cabinets - they are good quality and we already have lots of takers, so they should be gone soon.

We already like it better on the patio – it feels more open, more light gets into the living room, and when we get the third one out and the plywood off the ends of the patio, the guest room will also be a lot brighter. Apparently, the house used to be green! We like the green better than the ultra boring beige it is painted, so maybe we’ll paint the back of the house green just for fun.

As an added bonus, when we pulled out one of the cabinets, we found hidden treasure! (just like an Easter Egg hunt!) There was ART on the wall behind one of the cabinets! I am pretty sure it is from the 70’s or even late 60’s – it looks like tin can art – they took cans and cut them up, curled the ends, painted and stuck them together – and the colors are totally 70’s: avocado green, and that orange-red color of the washing machine my sister used to have back then... :)

Here are more photos: Cabinet demolition!